Beverly Allitt

Justice for the victims?

Rather than going to prison, Allitt was incarcerated at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottingham, a high-security facility mainly housing individuals detained under the Mental Health Act. As an inmate at Rampton, she began her attention seeking behaviour again, ingesting ground glass and pouring boiling water on her hand. Allitt subsequently admitted to three of the murders for which she was charged, as well as six of the assaults. The appalling nature of her crimes placed her on the Home Office list of criminals who will never be eligible for parole.There have been accusations, most notably by Chris Taylor, father of baby Liam, Allitt’s first victim, that Rampton Secure Hospital is more like a Butlin’s holiday camp than a prison. The facility, which has some 1400 staff to deal with around 400 inmates, costs taxpayers around £2000 per week, per inmate, to administer. In 2001 there were reports that Allitt was to marry fellow inmate, Mark Heggie, although she is currently still single.Allitt was the subject of a 'Mirror' newspaper enquiry in May 2005, when it was revealed that she had received over £25,000 in State benefits since her incarceration in 1993. In August 2006, Allitt applied for a review of her sentence which led the Probation Service to contact victims' families about the process. The review remains pending.